The Monsanto Papers are millions of internal documents released as part of US lawsuits against the company over claims its flagship product, Roundup, causes cancer. This is what the papers reveal…
Cancer Council Australia is concerned there has not been an independent or formal review of the chemical glyphosate – the active ingredient in Roundup – in more than two decades. The chemical is the most widely used herbicide on the planet and is popular with home gardeners and farmers in Australia and across the world.
In 2015, the World Health Organisation body, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), classified glyphosate as “probably carcinogenic to humans”.
“We are concerned that this issue’s not being taken seriously enough in Australia, particularly by the agricultural industry,” Cancer Council Australia CEO Dr Sanchia Aranda said. “The IARC report is independent and does suggest that there is absolutely a reason for concern.”
Glyphosate was patented by Monsanto four decades ago, sparking a revolution in agriculture. Instead of ploughing or tilling fields farmers started spraying glyphosate to kill weeds before planting their next crop. Roundup was marketed to farmers and home gardeners across the world as safe and effective. More than 500 glyphosate products are sold in Australia today.
“It is the safest herbicide that’s ever been developed,” said Scott Partridge, the vice-president of Bayer, the company which recently bought Monsanto for $63 billion.
However, many people would strongly disagree. After all, if it was so safe to use, why the need for such shady underhanded tactics to continually undermine independent research into potential health implications?
In the investigative report “The Monsanto Papers” below, Four Corners (for ABC News Australia) investigates the secret tactics used by global chemical giant Monsanto to protect its billion-dollar business and its star product, the weed killer, Roundup. But first…
What Are The Monsanto Papers Exactly & What Do They Contain?
The Monsanto Papers are millions of internal documents released as part of US lawsuits against the company over claims its flagship product, Roundup, causes cancer. This is what the papers reveal:
- That Monsanto ran a longstanding, aggressive campaign to protect its flagship product, Roundup.
- The papers show Monsanto knew of the potential risk of Roundup’s key ingredient, glyphosate, for decades.
- In 2003, Monsanto’s lead toxicologist warned they could not say “Roundup is not a carcinogen” because they hadn’t done necessary testing to prove that.
- Over the years Monsanto attempted to kill off independent assessments of glyphosate.
- Monsanto launched a PR campaign to undermine a World Health Organisation cancer agency study that classified glyphosate as a “probable human carcinogen”.
- Monsanto ghost wrote a scientific paper and a magazine article in support of glyphosate and paid experts to appear on panels.
- Monsanto continues to insist Roundup is safe and they say that’s backed by hundreds of scientific papers.
…buckle in and check out “The Monsanto Papers” below…